Citigroup Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 98.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 175,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,306 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $47,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 167.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.25 and a 1-year high of $316.29. The firm has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $255.66 and a 200-day moving average of $259.04.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $2.59 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ESS. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.